Pressing On: The Letterpress Film Screening

In conjunction with the Gadzook! exhibition at GOCA's Downtown location, you are invited to the Ent Center for the Arts for a free screening of Pressing On: The Letterpress Film.

About the film:

The modern world was born on a printing press. Once essential to communication, the 500-year-old process is now in danger of being lost as its caretakers age. From self-proclaimed basement hoarders to the famed Hatch Show Print, Pressing On: The Letterpress Film explores the question: why has letterpress survived in a digital age?

Worlds of each character emerge as unusual narratives—joyful, mournful, reflective and visionary—punctuated with on-screen visual poetry, every shot meticulously composed. Captivating personalities blend with wood, metal and type as young printers strive to save this historic process in a film created for the designer, type nerd, historian and collector in us all.

The centuries-old practice of letterpress printing has been invigorated — and in many cases reinvented — by contemporary artists. Breaking boundaries in this medium simultaneously connects to its roots, on a continuum with an incredibly rich history of innovation that began with the advent of moveable type in the west. Whether reimagining the printed broadside through the lens of western identity and magical realism, or conducting a formal investigation of the visual vocabulary and aesthetics of the type itself, the regional, national and international artists featured in this exhibition explore a range of concepts grounded in contemporary letterpress printing practice. The exhibition will include a collaboration with The Press at Colorado College, a film screening of “Pressing On: The Letterpress Film” directed by Erin Beckloff, artist talks and workshops.
Curated by Michelle Winchell.

*A gadzook in typography is the decorative embellishment that connects two characters to form a ligature.